Systems and Methods for Transaction and Information Management

ABSTRACT

Systems or methods for managing transactions within a controlled environment facility provide an information management engine integrating transaction functionality for establishing an account associated with a resident of the controlled environment facility, and use the information management engine to conduct transactions associated with residents of the controlled environment facility. The transactions include at least distant deposits into the account by a party outside of the controlled environment facility. The systems or methods accept requests from the resident and facilitate the request for deposit. The systems or methods may place calls to the individuals outside the controlled environment facility or to interact with the individual. During such calls a deposit request may be made and the deposit accepted.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/338,868, also entitled “Systems and Methods for Transactionand Information Management,” filed Jan. 24, 2006, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/836,976,also entitled “Systems and Methods for Transaction and InformationManagement,” filed Apr. 30, 2004, which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/602,233 entitled “Systems andMethods for Transaction and Information Management,” filed Jun. 24,2003, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference. The present application is also related to co-pending andcommonly assigned U.S. patent applications Ser. No. 10/135,878 entitled“Information Management and Movement System and Method,” filed Apr. 29,2002, Ser. No. 10/135,883 entitled “Optimizing Profitability in BusinessTransactions,” filed Apr. 29, 2002, Ser. No. 10/360,248 entitled “Systemand Method for Account Establishment and Transaction Management UsingInterrupt Messaging,” filed Feb. 7, 2003, Ser. No. 10/360,442 entitled“Systems and Methods for Transaction Authorization Determination,” filedFeb. 7, 2003, and Ser. No. 10/640,505, entitled “Called Party ControlledMessage Delivery,” filed Aug. 13, 2003, the disclosures of which arehereby incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is generally related to transaction systems, andmore particularly, to systems and methods utilizing informationcommunication systems for facilitating deposits into and interactionwith transaction systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a controlled environment, such as within a prison or jail facility,controlling access, information, interaction, and/or transactions isoften of particular interest. In a prison facility in particular, safetyand security is of paramount importance and, therefore, the primaryresponsibility of the personnel thereof is to effectively implementcontrols with respect to the residents (inmates). However, suchcontrolled environments often provide an environment much like a smallcity in which a number of individuals work and live, thus requiringvarious goods and/or services associated with civilized society.Accordingly, various exchanges of information, money, goods, etceteramay be performed in association with individuals of a controlledenvironment, both within the controlled environment and externalthereto. For example, an inmate residing in a prison facility may beprovided medical services, such as dispensing of prescriptionmedications. An inmate may also be allowed to place phone calls tofriends and family outside of the prison facility. Likewise, an inmatemay be allowed to purchase commissary items, such as through use of aprepaid trust-like account.

Administering the aforementioned exchanges of information, money, goods,etcetera typically requires the time and efforts of the staff of thecontrolled environment facility and/or individuals associated withvarious service providers thereto. For example, prison and/or commissarypersonnel may be required to accept payments directly from visitors orreceive mail including payments, identify the individual resident forwhich the funds are intended, access an account associated with theindividual resident, and increment the balance thereof. Each such taskrequires time away from prison personnel's primary tasks associated withthe operation of the controlled environment facility and/or increasesthe costs associated with a service provider serving that population.Moreover, such tasks as accomplished today are typically largely paperbased and require appreciable manual processing, thereby furtheraggravating the directing of personnel's attention away from tasks moreprimary to the operation of the controlled environment facility andfurther adding to the costs.

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical commissary process flow. In addition toissues with respect to taking time and attention away from tasks ofprimary importance, the aforementioned exchanges may present safety andother issues. For example, increased contact between prison personneland inmates can increase the danger to the prison personnel, thusinteraction associated with collection of monies by prison personnel fordeposit in inmate accounts can expose such personnel to claims of theftof such monies. Accordingly, inefficiencies exist with respect to thebusinesses and individuals conducting such exchanges associated withcontrolled environment facilities.

Typically, non-residents, such as friends and family can deposit moneyinto a trust account maintained for the benefit of a resident. Theresident may typically use such deposited funds for commissarypurchases, to pay for telephone use, to pay for healthcare, to paypay-for-stay charges, and/or the like. Typically, funds are deposited bysuch non-residents when the non-residents, such as the aforementionedfriends and family, are onsite, at the facility. These deposits aretypically made in cash and in person, at a central location, such as acashier's window, manned by facility personnel. Traveling to a facilityto make such a deposit is very inconvenient for the non-residents.Maintaining one or more cashier's windows is costly to the facility.Problematically goods and service providers for residents of controlledaccess environment facilities typically do not extend operations, suchas the gathering of funds for resident trust accounts, outside of the“four walls” of the facility, whether such providers are the facilityitself or an outside contractor or the like.

Oftentimes, personal contact with the resident such as during a visitwill prompt a non-resident to make such a deposit. Problematically, ifthe non-resident is not prepared with the cash necessary, a depositcannot be made at that time. Furthermore, the impetus to make a depositfollowing personal contact may be lessened with time and the desire tomake a deposit may fade once a friend or family member leaves thefacility. Presently, the only alternatives to actually traveling to thefacility to make such deposits is to mail or wire money to the facility.This is also time consuming, inconvenient, and in the case of a wiretransfer, costly.

Furthermore, it is typically somewhat impractical for a resident of acontrolled environment facility to request account deposits from thirdparties, as the resident's ability to communicate with parties outsideof the facility are typically restricted. Nevertheless, interaction witha resident during a phone call may motivate a non-resident to make adeposit in a resident's trust account. However, making such a depositrequires action outside the home or place of work, such as traveling tothe facility to make a cash deposit, or traveling to an outside locationto make a wire transfer, or to obtain certified funds in the form of acashiers check or money order to mail to the facility. Thus, individualsexternal to a controlled environment facility, which conduct exchangestherewith are often less than satisfied with the experience.Additionally, the depositing party may not be provided with anyconfirmation of the monies received further exacerbating thenon-residents lack of satisfaction. From a practical standpoint theresident may not be provided any sort of notice of the deposit. Theresident may only learn of a deposit through a change in his accountbalance when he next inquires about the balance from a commissaryrepresentative or other personnel.

Some facilities may only have commissary or similar services availableon certain days and/or at certain times during which a resident mayorder commissary goods or similar services. Typically, under the systemsand methods in place a resident must wait for a commissaryrepresentative such as a “cart lady,” to actually come around to theresident to receive orders. This may be the only opportunity for theresident to inquire about his/her balance. Problematically, if thebalance is too low to make a purchase nothing can be done under existingsystems and methods to facilitate funding of the account to expedite apurchase. Thus, if the resident's account is low on funds and theresident cannot afford to make a desired, or necessary, purchase, theresident must wait until at least the next ordering cycle to make apurchase. Typically, a commissary system that relies on manual ordersand the like operates almost exclusively within the facility. In otherwords, such a traditional commissary provider does not have an abilityto go outside the four walls of the facility to secure additional funds.Typically, such manual ordering commissary providers do not employ phonebased ordering systems or the like.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to systems and methods, which utilizeinformation communication systems for transaction and informationmanagement. According to embodiments of the invention, an automatedinformation management engine is provided enabling and facilitating thedirect deposit of funds into accounts, securely and conveniently, bythird parties. These third (outside) parties may include family membersof a resident, friends of a resident, entities or accounts establishedto provide funds for the use by indigent residents, and/or the like.Accounts or entities established to provide funds for the use byindigent residents might be financed, in whole or part, by profits fromthe associated commissary system, or the like. Embodiments of thepresent invention are particularly useful with respect to transactionsand information management associated with controlled environmentfacilities, such as inmate facilities (e.g., municipal jails, countyjails, state prisons, federal prisons, military stockades, juvenilefacilities, and detention camps), hospitals, nursing homes, camps,schools, and the like. Further, the present invention may be used byother controlled environment facilities as well, particularly those thathave commissary or “store” facilities and where residents do notgenerally have much cash on their person. For example, the presentsystems and methods may facilitate third party deposits in a resident'scommissary account in situations where a party that may not wish tobecome responsible for the resident's account may be willing to makedeposits into the account, from time to time, particularly at the behestof the resident. Preferably, the depositing party may make deposits inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention in a number ofways, such as by the use of credit or debit cards, check by phone,direct billing to a telephone number, or the like.

The present invention provides enhancements to systems and methods fordirect deposit of funds into an account maintained for the benefit of aresident of a controlled environment facility. These funds may bedeposited into the account, which may be in the form of a trust accountor the like, for commissary or other use by the resident. Preferably,the present systems and methods facilitate the acquisition of suchdeposits by providing various mechanisms that will enhance or supplementa resident's ability to request funds from a benefactor.

Unlike existing account funding scenarios discussed above, the presentsystems and methods foster immediate “gratification” on the part of thedepositor and the resident. The present invention addresses a desire toprovide immediate gratification to a resident by communicating a needfor a deposit to the one or more a friends or family members of theresident, so a friend or family member can deposit money into theresident's commissary account on a “real time” basis, enhancing customersatisfaction and revenue potential for a commissary and/or facilityoperator. Particularly, the present invention provides for enabling aresident to request a deposit from a third party in a more immediatemanner, such as at the time when need for such a deposit is discoveredby the resident. Additionally, the present systems and methodspreferably enable a requested party to more readily make deposits forthe benefit of the resident. Advantageously, the present systems andmethods make depositing funds in a resident account more convenientthrough the use of automated processes and easing the process for theend user depositor. The aforementioned “immediate gratification” mightresult not only through the present invention enabling the deposit ofmoney immediately upon a request by a resident, but may also result fromthe deposit posting to the resident's account immediately enabling theresident to make purchases in relatively short order. The presentinvention also preferably makes the experience of depositing funds in aresident's account as personal as possible. For example, personalcontact from the resident as a part of the deposit request process maymake the experience more positive for the depositor.

A further advantage of the present invention is that it enables aresident to circumvent the ordering cycle discussed above. Since, inaccordance with the present invention, deposits are more readilycredited, a resident will not necessarily need to wait for an orderingcycle to place an order. This further enhances the aforementionedsatisfaction and provides greater revenues for the facility, commissaryoperator, or the like. Thus, in an incarceration environment, thepresent invention may be used to utilize friends and family members ofthe inmates to more effectively create revenue for the facility andassociated vendors.

Embodiments of the present invention provide information that residentsand end users, such as friends and family members did not previouslyhave available. Further gratification for friends and family memberdepositors may be archived by relieving costs associated with makingdeposits to resident accounts. For example, fees associated with wiretransfers and the like may be significantly more than any fees that maybe charged in conjunction with then present invention, which may besubsidized and/or absorbed by vendors. In accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention friends and family may be enabled to make depositsand a resident may be enabled to make deposits even if the resident doesnot have phone ordering of commissary available to him/her. Also, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention the resident ispreferably notified of a received deposit the next time the residentmakes use of the facility phone system to place an outside phone call.

Thus, embodiments of the present invention may operate to facilitatereplenishment of account balances, such as by invoking interruptmessaging to solicit funds as a minimum threshold amount is reached orwhenever the opportunity arises. For example, embodiments of the presentinvention may contact a party designated with respect to the account tosolicit funds when an account balance drops below a certain level,whereby an outbound message, e.g., a phone call, electronic mailmessage, etcetera, may be sent by the controlled environment informationmanagement system to one or more friend or family member designated tosolicit deposit of funds upon detection of a minimum threshold amount.Additionally or alternatively, the controlled environment informationmanagement system may set a flag with respect to the account balancecondition such that, the next time the responsible party is called bythe user, interrupt messaging is invoked to solicit funds from theresponsible party during the call in an “oh, by the way” manner.Further, such a solicitation may be made at anytime a call is placed toany, or particular outside parties by the resident, or at any timecontact is made with an outside party, such as when a calling account isset up such discussed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/360,248entitled “System and Method for Account Establishment and TransactionManagement Using Interrupt Messaging,” filed Feb. 7, 2003, or such asduring the delivery of a message in accordance with the systems andmethods disclosed in and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/640,505,entitled “Called Party Controlled Message Delivery,” filed Aug. 13,2003, both of which are incorporated herein by reference above.

Thus, in accordance with the present systems and methods a benefactormay be contacted, or asked in an “oh, by the way” manner to ask that thebenefactor deposit funds directly into the resident's account.Preferably, this contact is carried out in an automated manner usingInteractive Voice Response (IVR) technology or the like. Thus,embodiments of the present invention provide for direct interaction withusers, whether individuals residing within a controlled environmentfacility or individuals residing outside of the controlled environmentfacility, for transaction and information management using an intuitiveinterface, such as may implement voice and/or dual tone multiplefrequency (DTMF) input. Interactive systems of embodiments of thepresent invention provide voice response, voice recognition, and/orother information communication to provide prompting to users, to acceptuser input and queries, to respond to queries, to confirm transactions,to provide account information, etcetera. Accordingly, interaction forconducting transaction and information management is substantiallyautomated and integrated. Interaction by users according to embodimentsof the present invention includes various authorization and/orverification techniques. For example, voice print technology, fingerprint scanning, iris scanning, personal identification numbers (PINs),special codes, social security numbers, driver's license numbers and/orthe like may be implemented to affirmatively identify individuals forconducting transactions. Authorization and/or verification according topreferred embodiments may be implemented to insure the identity ofresident making a request. Authorization and/or verification accordingto preferred embodiments may also be implemented with respect to usersresiding outside of a controlled environment facility. For example,embodiments of the present invention may implement account depositauthorization with respect to a prison facility to provide control withrespect to individuals who may deposit funds with respect to particularinmates.

At least one embodiment of the present invention utilizes a telephonysystem, and/or other information communication system, having accessterminals disposed within a controlled environment facility for use byresidents thereof. Such access terminals may comprise general-purposeuser terminals, such as telephones, computer systems, personal digitalassistants, etcetera, and/or special purpose user terminals, such askiosks, automatic teller machines (ATMs), etcetera. Such special purposeuser terminals may accept deposits of cash or credit/debit card cashtransfers from a resident into a commissary account, such as from aninmate at the time of booking. The present systems and methods may alsomake use of a terminal, kiosk, or the like disposed in a facility, suchas in a visitation area of a jail or prison, entry foyer of a nursinghome, a nurse's station of a hospital floor, or the like, to acceptdeposits, including cash deposits, from visiting parties, such as may berequested by a resident during a visit.

An inmate in a prison facility may utilize a telephone system adaptedaccording to the present invention to perform such functions as orderingitems, such as commissary items, medical items, and library books, forhimself or others (even individuals residing outside of the prison),inquire as to the status of ordered goods and services, inquire as to anaccount balance available to the inmate, place phone calls, includingprepaid and collect calls, receive information about court dates orother appointments, receive special messages, announcements, and specialoffers, and/or the like. Embodiments of the present invention may beintegrated with various aspects of transaction and informationmanagement such as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/602,233 entitled “Systems and Methods for Transaction and InformationManagement,” incorporated by reference above. For example, prepaidaccount management, collect calling services, commissary services, andaccount funding are all integrated according to embodiments of thepresent invention, to thereby facilitate seamless user interaction foraccount deposit, account status inquiry, commissary ordering, andcollect calling. Embodiments utilize information technology alreadypresent in a controlled environment facility, such as a local areanetwork, an intranet, the Internet, etcetera, to provide communicationand interaction with third party suppliers and users desiring theirgoods and/or services.

In some facilities, the telephony system and/or other informationcommunication system may not be used for facilitating commissary ordersor other activities, such as described above. In such a circumstance,embodiments of the present invention facilitate the request of adeposit, either by a resident or in the aforementioned “oh, by the way”manner, by interfacing the telephony, and/or other informationcommunication system of the facility with an administration managerfunctionality, which might be located in outside of the resident'sfacility.

It should be appreciated that preferred embodiments of the presentinvention substantially decrease costs associated with transactions,such as by taking paper and personnel out of the process as well asrelieving need to collect for purchases after the goods or services aredelivered. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention deployedwith respect to a controlled environment facility facilitatereallocation of man hours to achieve more value from personnel byallowing more time for such personnel to be engaged in tasks primary tothe operation of the controlled environment facility. Moreover, securityissues in particular situations, such as the aforementioned prisonfacility environment, may be decreased, e.g., interaction by prisonfacility and/or other third party service personnel with inmates may bedecreased thereby diminishing opportunity for security breaches.Likewise, primary aspects of a controlled environment facility, such assecurity in a prison facility, may be increased according to embodimentsof the present invention using authorizations and checks and balancesprovided by system automation and integration.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present invention in order that the detaileddescription of the invention that follows may be better understood.Additional features and advantages of the invention will be describedhereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. Itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conceptionand specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures for carrying out the samepurposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by thoseskilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic ofthe invention, both as to its organization and method of operation,together with further objects and advantages will be better understoodfrom the following description when considered in connection with theaccompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, thateach of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration anddescription only and is not intended as a definition of the limits ofthe present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference isnow made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an implementation of typical prior art commissary service;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a controlled environment informationmanagement system deployed according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 shows detail with respect to aspects of the controlledenvironment information management system of FIG. 2 according toembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows detail with respect to aspects of the controlledenvironment information management system of FIG. 2 according to otherembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the present methods enablingrequesting and making deposits by third parties.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present methods foroffering phone related services as a part of a distant deposit requestmessage to an outside party;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present methods forpresenting a distant deposit request to an outside party following aninterrupt message to establish a business relationship with the outsideparty;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present methods forpresenting a distant deposit request to an outside party followingprovisioning of a paid for message from a resident; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present methods forautomated distant deposits.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Directing attention to FIG. 2, controlled environment informationmanagement system 210 adapted to employ an embodiment of the presentinvention is shown. System 210 provides transaction and informationmanagement within and associated with controlled environment facility200. Although illustrated as being deployed within the controlledenvironment facility in FIG. 2, it should be appreciated that controlledenvironment information management systems of the present invention maybe deployed in a number of configurations. For example, embodiments ofthe present invention provide an information management system deployedexternal to the controlled environment facility and having dataterminals and/or other access points deployed within the controlledenvironment facility. Additionally or alternatively, informationmanagement systems may be provided in a distributed topology, such ashaving server systems, application programs, and/or databasesdistributed throughout a number of geographic locals, according toembodiments of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, controlled environment information management system210 may provide a number of access points coupled to a variety of userterminal equipment configurations. User terminal equipment utilizedaccording to preferred embodiments of the present invention may includepersonal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers,telephones (wireline and wireless), facsimile machines, kiosks, and thelike, coupled through direct links, such as wireline, cable, fiberoptic, or the like, and/or indirect links, such as network links (e.g.,local area networks (LANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide areanetworks (WANs), intranets, extranets, the Internet, cellular networks,the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and/or the like), privatebranch exchange (PBX) links, or the like. Accordingly, informationmanagement system 210 of the illustrated embodiment providesconnectivity to user terminals 222-1 through 222-M disposed withincontrolled environment facility 200 via direct connections, userterminals 221-1 through 221-N disposed within controlled environmentfacility 200 via indirect connections (here comprising a network ornetworks, referred to herein as network 220), and user terminals 231-1through 231-P disposed external to controlled environment facility 200via indirect connections (here comprising XML connections and/or anetwork or networks, referred to herein as network 230). It should beappreciated that information communication links utilized according tothe present invention are not limited to wireline links and, therefore,may utilize wireless, optical, and/or other information communicationlinks.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention,controlled environment information management system 210 is adapted toinclude intelligence/management functionality 211 andtransaction/commerce functionality 212. Preferably,intelligence/management functionality 211 provides for collection,storage, and movement of information for managing various operationalaspects of the controlled environment facility, including the managementof personnel, residents, vendors, and resources. Transaction/commercefunctionality 212 preferably provides for the instigation and completionof various transactions, including requesting and providing goods andservices, determining credit worthiness, verifying account balance andstatus, providing for payment, and providing for deposits such as directdeposit functionality 213. The aforementioned functionalities ofinformation management system 210 are preferably provided at anydistance and at any time.

The controlled environment facility information management engine maynotify the resident of any deposit made, such as by interfacing withcall functionality, such as an IVR or the like, to call the resident toprovide notification of the deposit or interrupting a phone call placedby the resident to notify the resident of the deposit, such as a firstphone call placed by the resident following the deposit.

It should be appreciated that, although intelligent/managementfunctionality 211 and transaction/commerce functionality 212 are shownin FIG. 2 disposed in controlled environment information managementsystem 210, various structural and/or functional aspects of thesecomponents may be provided by different entities and/or may be disposedinside of and outside of controlled environment facility 200. Multiplesystems, whether disposed remotely, locally, or combinations thereof,may be utilized in implementing the aforementioned controlledenvironment information management system 210.

Directing attention to FIG. 3, detail with respect to an exemplarydeployment of an embodiment of the present invention is shown. As shownin FIG. 2, controlled environment information management system 210provides transaction and information management and connectivity withrespect to a plurality of entities. For example, individuals disposedwithin controlled environment facility 200, such as residents ofcontrolled environment facility 200 having access to resident room 311(such as may comprise a hospital room, prison cell, camp cabin, commonuse room, etcetera), are provided access to controlled environmentinformation management system 210 for interaction therewith, such as viatelephone 221-2. Additionally, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, individualsdisposed in controlled environment facility 200, such as controlledenvironment personnel having access to administrative office 312 (suchas may comprise a patient information station, a doctor's office, ageneral administration office, a guard station, etcetera), are providedaccess to controlled environment information management system 210 forinteraction therewith, such as via computer 222-1. Computer, ATM orkiosk 222-1 or a similar service terminal may be located in a portionthe facility such as in a visitation room or lobby area. Individualsdisposed outside of controlled environment facility 200, such as friendsand family residing at residence 321 are provided access to controlledenvironment information management system 210 for interaction therewith,such as via computer 231-1 and/or telephone 231-2. Additionally, in theembodiment of FIG. 3, individuals disposed outside of controlledenvironment facility 200 are provided access to controlled environmentinformation management system 210 for interaction therewith at locations322 through 324, such as may be associated with various businesses,service providers, and/or the like, such as via any of terminals 231-1through 231-P. Controlled environment related business servicesproviders 231, such as telephony service providers, commissary goods andservices providers, health care providers, etcetera, as may be disposedin and/or outside of controlled environment facility 200 may be providedaccess to controlled environment information management system 210 forinteraction therewith, such as via any of terminals 221-1 through 221-N,222-1 through 222-M, and/or 231-1 through 231-P.

It should be appreciated that, although particular embodiments of userterminals have been shown or referenced above with respect to particularindividuals and/or locations, the present invention is not limited tothe use of any particular user terminal configuration or configurationswith respect to individuals and/or locations. For example,administration office 312 may additionally or alternatively includetelephones for providing interaction with controlled environmentinformation management system 210. Furthermore the user terminal maytake the form of kiosks or automated equipment capable of takingdeposits, similar to an automated teller machine. Moreover, there is nolimitation according to the present invention with respect to the numberof user terminals which may be provided with respect to an individualand/or location.

It should further be appreciated that, although particular individualsand/or locations have been shown or referenced above for interactionwith controlled environment information management system 210, thepresent invention is not limited to the individuals and/or locations ofthe exemplary embodiment. For example, embodiments of the invention mayprovide connectivity for interaction between a plurality of controlledenvironment facilities, if desired.

According to a preferred embodiment, controlled environment informationmanagement system 210 is deployed in association with a prison facility.In operation according to an exemplary embodiment wherein controlledenvironment facility 200 is a prison facility, an inmate may pick up aphone, such as telephone 221-2, and communicate information tocontrolled environment information management system 210 to accesslimited information and/or conduct certain proscribed transactions.Controlled environment information management system 210 may take thatinformation, or some portion thereof, and communicate it to an inmaterelated business service provider, such as controlled environmentrelated business services provider 331. This entity may, responsive tosuch information, provide a product or service to the inmate. Forexample, particular authorized goods may be delivered to the prisonerwithin controlled environment facility 200. Additionally oralternatively, services, such as medical care or telephony services maybe provided to the inmate.

The aforementioned resident's use of controlled environment informationmanagement system 210 is not limited to transactions for the acquisitionof goods and/or services. In accordance with the present invention aresident may utilize the aforementioned phone or terminal to place arequest through environment information management system 210 that athird party be requested to deposit funds in his commissary account.

According to preferred embodiments, account balances are maintained forindividuals using controlled environment information management system210, which may be utilized in paying for the aforementioned goods andservices. The illustrated embodiment, for example, includes accountbalance database 301 of transaction/commerce functionality 212. Accountbalance database 301 may comprise prepaid account balances and/or postpaid account balances and is preferably utilized with respect to varioustransactions conducted using controlled environment informationmanagement system 210. For example, payment for goods ordered by aprisoner or friends and family may be made by a transfer of credit valuefrom controlled environment information management system 210 tocontrolled environment related business services provider 331, such asusing statement system 302.

Funds may be provided to account balance database 301 in a number ofways, such as various means of deposit by friends and family of aninmate. For example, friends and family may deposit funds into thesystem via such techniques as sending a money order or a cashier's checkvia the mail or bringing cash into the prison at the time of visitationfor entry into the system, such as by administration office 312.However, to facilitate the deposit of such funds, preferred embodimentsprovide for indirect, remote, and/or electronic deposit, such as vialocations 322 through 324, electronic payment system 325, and paymentlockbox 326, such as shown and described in the above referenced patentapplication entitled “Information Management and Movement System andMethod.” Electronic payments may be made using a credit card, checkconversion, or electronic funds transfer, for example, via electronicpayment system 325, such as may comprise the Internet or a telephonysystem. Additionally or alternatively, a payment lockbox or lockboxes,such as payment lockbox 326, may be provided in association withcontrolled environment information management system 210 to acceptpayment, such as in the form of cash, check, money order, credit card,electronic fund transfer, etcetera. Such locations and/or paymenttechniques may be more convenient to such individuals and therebyfacilitate their depositing funds into controlled environmentinformation management system 210.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of automated device 400 which maybe used for management of a commissary account or the like associatedwith a resident of a controlled environment facility. Device 400 may actas an access terminal and be disposed within the controlled environmentfacility for use by residents thereof. Device 400 may comprise ageneral-purpose user terminals, such as a computer system or a specialpurpose user terminals, such as a kiosk, an ATM, or the like. Device 400may also be disposed in a visitation or administrative area of a jail orprison, entry foyer of a nursing home, a nurse's station of a hospitalfloor, or the like, to accept deposits from visiting parties, such asmay be requested by a resident during a visit. Device 400 may alsoaccept deposits of cash or credit/debit card cash transfers from aresident into a commissary account, such as from an inmate at the timeof booking

The illustrated embodiment of device 400 comprises interface 401, whichmay interface device 400 with a controlled environment facilityinformation management engine that manages transaction functionality andprovides for the establishment and maintenance of accounts associatedwith residents of the controlled environment facility, such ascontrolled environment facility information management system 210,discussed above. Device 400 may further employ an input mechanism 402for conducting transactions by the resident and/or other parties. Thesetransactions may include a resident requesting a deposit into theaccount by a party outside of the controlled environment facility or avisiting party making a deposit into an account of a resident. Inputmechanism 402 may be used by a resident to provide contact informationfor the outside party as a part of requesting a deposit from the outsideparty. This contact information may take the form of an email address ora telephone or pager number. Device 400 might also include bill accepter403 and/or credit/debit card reader 404. Bill accepter 403 and/or cardreader 404 may be used to facilitate the aforementioned deposits into acommissary account by visitors and/or to accept deposits of cash orcredit/debit card cash transfers from a resident, such as from an inmateat the time of booking.

A request made by the resident may be provided to the controlledenvironment facility information management engine and the controlledenvironment facility information management engine may verifyidentification data for the resident in processing the request. Device400 may include various types of functionality for collecting andanalyzing data from the resident to provide the verification of aresident's identity, such as apparatus(es) 405 for collecting biometricdata, such as voice print data, finger print data, iris print datafacial recognition characteristics, or the like. Input mechanism 402 maybe used to collect a user supplied identification string, such as apersonal identification number, a social security number, birth date,mother's maiden name, a serial number, an inmate number, a driverslicense number, a government issued identifier, identification providedvia a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, badge, card, chip orthe like. The verification carried out by device 400 and/or thecontrolled environment facility information management engine might usetwo or more levels of verification, wherein a first level comprises useof a first type of the biometric data. A second level of verificationmight make use of a second type of the biometric data or a user suppliedidentification string.

The controlled environment facility information management enginecommunicates the request to the outside party using the contactinformation provided and credits any deposit made by the outside partyto the account of the requesting resident. The communication with theoutside party may be carried out via email. The email may contain a linkto a webpage, which provides a mechanism for accepting an indicationthat the outside party wishes to make a deposit and a mechanism foraccepting and processing the deposit. Preferably, the deposit may bemade using an online check authorization, a credit card or an onlinepayment system (such as PAYPAL®).

Embodiments of the present invention may operate to facilitatereplenishment of account balances, such as by invoking interruptmessaging to solicit funds as a minimum threshold amount is reachedthrough contacting a designated responsible party with respect to theaccount, as shown and described in the above referenced patentapplication entitled “System and Method for Account Establishment andTransaction Management Using Interrupt Messaging.” For example, anoutbound message, e.g., a phone call, electronic mail message, etcetera,may be sent by the controlled environment information management systemto one or more friend or family member designated to solicit deposit offunds upon detection of a minimum threshold amount. Additionally oralternatively, the controlled environment information management systemmay set a flag with respect to the account balance condition such that,the next time the responsible party is called by the user, interruptmessaging is invoked to solicit funds from the responsible party duringthe call. Having described an exemplary deployment of an embodiment ofthe present systems, attention is directed toward FIGS. 5 through 9,flow diagrams of operation of embodiments 500 through 900 of the presentmethods for facilitating deposits, such as into transaction system 212,via functionality 213 and/or device 400, is shown.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method to enable therequesting and making of deposits by third parties, such as, “distantdeposits” made by friends and family members of a resident of acontrolled environment facility, that does not have phone ordering ofcommissary products or the like. Method embodiment 500 comprisesreceiving an indication by a resident of a controlled environmentfacility at 501 that the resident wishes to request a deposit from aparty outside the controlled access facility into an account maintainedfor the benefit of the resident. This request may be made to anautomated transaction processing system. At 502 identification data maybe requested from the resident and verified for the resident. Thisrequest for identification data may be made, and the verification, maybe carried out by the aforementioned automated transaction processingsystem. Contact information for the outside party may be obtained fromthe resident, such as by the automated transaction processing system, at503. This contact information might include a telephone number, emailaddress and/or the like. The request may then be communicated to theoutside party using the contact information at 504. This may be carriedout by the automated transaction processing system such as by placing acall, sending a page, sending an email or otherwise contacting theoutside party. If the contact at 504 is made via an email the email maycontain a link to a webpage, or the like. Alternatively, a contact madeby phone or page might also contain a web address or the like where theoutside party may go to make a deposit. At 505, an indication as towhether the party wishes to make the deposit to the account may beaccepted, such as by the automated transaction processing system. If theoutside party wishes to make a deposit the deposit may be received at506, such as by the automated transaction processing system. Whenaccessing a webpage the outside party may make the indication at 505 bevia the webpage, and/or the deposit at 506 may also be made via thewebpage. At 507 at least a portion of the deposit is credited to theresident's account. A portion of the received deposit may be paid to anentity practicing the present systems or methods. The deposit may bemade via any of a plethora of manners, including an online checkauthorization, a credit card or through an online payment system. At 508the resident maybe notified of the deposit/credit to their account. Thisnotification may take the form of interrupting a phone call placed bythe resident to notify the resident of the credit/deposit. This phonecall may be a first phone call placed by the resident following thecrediting at 507. Alternatively or additionally, the resident may benotified at 508 by calling the resident to provide notification of thecrediting at 507. During the notification at 508 the outside party whomade the deposit may be connected with the resident. Alternatively, sucha connection between the outside party and resident may be madefollowing the notification.

In accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods,offers of phone related services such as prepaid phone cards, phoneminutes, exchange of phone related information, and/or the like may beprovided as a part of a distant deposit request message to an outsideparty, such as a resident's friend or family member. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of method embodiment 600 which includes receiving an indication bya resident of a controlled environment facility that the resident wishesto request a deposit from a party outside the controlled access facilityinto a transaction account maintained by a transaction processing systemfor the resident at 601. The request at 601 may be made through anautomated transaction processing system. Identification data for theresident is received and verified at 602 and at 603 the residentprovides a telephone number of the outside party. At 604 an outboundcall is placed by the automated transaction processing system to theoutside party and at 605 the request is communicated to the outsideparty. At 606, preferably following completion of the deposit orreceiving an indication from the outside party that a deposit will notbe forthcoming, services, such as associated with the automatedtransaction processing system, are preferably offered to the outsideparty. These services may include establishing a business relationshipbetween a host to the transaction processing system and the outsideparty when no business relationship between the host to the transactionand the outside party is currently in place; establishing a directbilling account between the host and the outside party; establishing aprepaid account between the host and the outside party; prepaid phonecards for use by the resident; phone minutes for use by the resident;and/or an exchange of phone related information for the resident and/orthe outside party. At 608 the resident may be notified of anydeposit/credit made to their account. This notification may take theform of interrupting a phone call placed by the resident to notify theresident of the credit/deposit. This phone call may be a first phonecall placed by the resident following the crediting of such a deposit.Alternatively or additionally, the resident may be notified at 608 bycalling the resident to provide notification of the crediting of adeposit. During the notification at 608 the outside party who made thedeposit may be connected with the resident. Alternatively, such aconnection between the outside party and resident may be made followingthe notification at 608.

Additionally, in accordance with the present systems and methods adistant deposit request may be presented to an outside party during aninterrupt message, such as a message attempting to establishment of abusiness relation ship with the outside party. Embodiment 700 of thepresent methods, flowcharted in FIG. 7, includes identifying initiationof a call via a call processing system from a resident of a controlledenvironment facility to a party outside the controlled environmentfacility at step 701. The call may be interrupted at 702, such as by atransaction validation engine, for interaction with at least the outsideparty. This interaction might include attempting to establish a businessrelationship between a host to the transaction and the outside partywhen no business relationship between the host to the transaction andthe outside party is currently in place by establishing a direct billingaccount and/or a prepaid account between the host and the outside party.At 703 the outside party is offered an opportunity to make a depositinto an account maintained for the benefit of the resident placing theinitial call. The offer at 703 may be made as a result of the resident'saccount balance falling below a predetermined threshold and/or as aresult of the resident attempting to make a purchase and the purchasebeing denied for insufficient funds in the resident's account. The Offerat 703 may also identify the goods or services the resident attempted topurchase. At 708 the resident may be notified of any deposit made totheir account. This notification may take the form of interrupting aphone call placed by the resident to notify the resident of the deposit.This phone call may be a first phone call placed by the residentfollowing the deposit. Alternatively or additionally, the resident maybe notified at 708 by calling the resident to provide notification ofthe deposit. During the notification at 708 the outside party who madethe deposit may be connected with the resident. Alternatively, such aconnection between the outside party and resident may be made followingthe notification.

Additionally, a distant deposit request may be requested followingacceptance of a message from a resident. FIG. 8 flow charts embodiment800 of the present methods, which comprises accepting a communicationfrom a controlled environment facility resident to a party outside thecontrolled environment facility at a time when an active communicationconnection from the resident to the outside party is not available at801. The accepted communication is stored at 802 for later delivery tothe outside party. Then at 803 the accepted communication is deliveredto the outside party, preferably under control of the outside party andafter the outside party has agreed to pay for such delivery. At 804, theoutside party is offered an opportunity to make a deposit into anaccount maintained for the benefit of the resident, preferably afterplayback of the aforementioned message. At 808 the resident may benotified of any the deposit made to their account. This notification maytake the form of interrupting a phone call placed by the resident tonotify the resident of the deposit. This phone call may be a first phonecall placed by the resident following the deposit. Alternatively oradditionally, the resident may be notified at 808 by calling theresident to provide notification of the deposit. During the notificationat 808 the outside party who made the deposit may be connected with theresident. Alternatively, such a connection between the outside party andresident may be made following the notification.

In accordance with the present systems and methods a fully automateddistant deposit, such as may be provided via a bank draft, credit cardcharge, or the like may be prearranged by an outside party, such afriend of family member of a resident. This deposit may be based on aproactive trigger, such as prearranged regularity, inmate accountbalance minimum, or the like. Embodiment 900 of a method of the presentsystems and methods, as flowcharted in FIG. 9, may include providing aninformation management engine integrating transaction functionality at901. Accounts associated with residents of the controlled environmentfacility may be established at 902. At 903, the information managementengine may be used to conduct transactions associated with residents ofthe controlled environment facility. The transactions may include, amongother transactions, an automated deposit, made at generally regular timeintervals, into the account by a party outside of the controlledenvironment facility. Additionally or alternatively, the transactionsmay include an automated deposit, made when a balance of the accountreaches a prearranged minimum threshold. The information managementengine may also integrate telephone calling services and embodiment 900might include utilizing the telephone calling services to facilitatesetting up the automated deposits at 90X. A portion of the receiveddeposit may be paid to an entity practicing the present systems ormethods. At 908 the resident may be notified of any the deposit made totheir account. This notification may take the form of interrupting aphone call placed by the resident to notify the resident of the deposit.This phone call may be a first phone call placed by the residentfollowing the deposit. Alternatively or additionally, the resident maybe notified at 908 by calling the resident to provide notification ofthe deposit. During the notification at 908 the outside party who madethe deposit may be connected with the resident. Alternatively, such aconnection between the outside party and resident may be made followingthe notification.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, thescope of the present application is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, compositionof matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. Asone of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from thedisclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing orlater to be developed that perform substantially the same function orachieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodimentsdescribed herein may be utilized according to the present invention.Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within theirscope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter,means, methods, or steps.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by an automatedtransaction processing system, an indication by a resident of acontrolled environment facility that said resident wishes to request adeposit from a party outside said controlled access facility into anaccount maintained for the benefit of said resident; verifying, by saidautomated transaction processing system, identification data for saidresident; obtaining from said resident, by said automated transactionprocessing system, contact information for the outside party;communicating, by said automated transaction processing system, saidrequest to said outside party using said contact information; accepting,by said automated transaction processing system, an indication as towhether said party wishes to make said deposit to said account;receiving, by said automated transaction processing system, saiddeposit; and crediting, by said automated transaction processing system,at least a portion of said deposit to said account.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein said contact information is an email address.
 3. Themethod of claim 2 wherein said communicating further comprises emailingsaid request to said outside at said email address.
 4. The method ofclaim 3 wherein said email contains a link to a webpage.
 5. The methodof claim 4 wherein said accepting further comprises accepting saidindication via said webpage and said receiving further comprisesprocessing said deposit via said webpage.
 6. The method of claim 4wherein said processing further comprises processing payment made by atleast one of: an online check authorization; a credit card; and anonline payment system.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:notifying said resident of said crediting.
 8. The method of claim 7wherein said notifying further comprises interrupting a phone callplaced by said resident to notify the resident of said crediting.
 9. Themethod of claim 8 wherein said phone call placed by said resident is afirst phone call placed by said resident following said crediting. 10.The method of claim 7 wherein said notifying further comprises callingsaid resident to provide notification of said crediting.
 11. The methodof claim 10 wherein said notifying further comprises connecting saidoutside party with said resident as a part of said notification.
 12. Themethod of claim 10 wherein said notifying further comprises connectingsaid outside party with said resident following said notification.
 13. Amethod comprising: receiving by an automated transaction processingsystem an indication by a resident of a controlled environment facilitythat said resident wishes to request a deposit from a party outside saidcontrolled access facility into a transaction account maintained by saidtransaction processing system for said resident; verifyingidentification data for said resident; obtaining from said resident atelephone number of a the outside party; placing an outbound call bysaid automated transaction processing system to said outside party; andcommunicating said request to said outside party and offering servicesassociated with said automated transaction processing system to saidoutside party following the communication of said request, during saidoutbound call.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein said services compriseat least one of: establishing a business relationship between a host tosaid transaction processing system and said outside party when nobusiness relationship between said host to said transaction and saidoutside party is currently in place; establishing a direct billingaccount between said host and said outside party; establishing a prepaidaccount between said host and said outside party; prepaid phone cardsfor use by said resident; phone minutes for use by said resident; and anexchange of phone related information for at least one of said residentand said outside party.
 15. The method of claim 13 further comprising:notifying said resident of crediting of a deposit received from saidoutside party.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein said notifying furthercomprises interrupting a phone call placed by said resident to notifythe resident of said crediting.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein saidphone call placed by said resident is a first phone call placed by saidresident following said crediting.
 18. The method of claim 15 whereinsaid notifying further comprises calling said resident to providenotification of said crediting.
 19. The method of claim 15 wherein saidnotifying further comprises connecting said outside party with saidresident as a part of said notification.
 20. The method of claim 15wherein said notifying further comprises connecting said outside partywith said resident following said notification.